Brake adjusting device



Aug. 25, 1936. R. c. P. TURGOT BRAKE ADJUSTING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 7 Filed June 2, 1931 Aug. 25, 1936. R, L, T OT 2,051,920

BRAKE ADJUSTING DEVICE E Filed June 2, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Aug. 25, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BRAKE ADJUSTING DEVICE Application June 2, 1931, Serial No. 541,693 In France June 2, 1930 12 Claims. (01. 188-795) The present invention relates to brakes and more particularly to means for automatically effecting the adjustment of brake shoes with respect to the brake drum.

An object of the present invention is to provide improved means for automatically adjusting the position of the brake shoes in accordance with the wear on the facings carried thereby.

Another object of the invention is to provide improved adjusting means actuated by the brake operating movement of the shoes themselves.

Another object of the invention is to provide novel mounting means for the brake shoes which 'will be automatically displaced by the movement of the brake shoes or the controlling means therefor and in proportion to the play between the facing members and the drum.

A further object of the invention is to provide means whereby the automatic displacement of the mounting means for the brake shoes will effect adjusting movement of the shoes with respect to the drum.

' A still further object of the invention is to provide automatic means for taking up the play,

which occurs during adjustment of the brake shoes, between the shoes and their co-operating controlling devices.

Other objects and features of novelty will be apparent from the following detailed description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings. It is to be expressly understood however, that the drawings are for purposes of illustration only and are not designed as adefinition of the limits of the invention, reference being had for this purpose to the appended claims. In the drawings wherein similar reference characters refer to like parts throughoutthe several views:

Fig. 1 is an elevational view, with a section of the brake drum, of a regulating device in conformity to the invention as employed with a motor vehicle brake.

Fig. 2 is a section of the same on the line 2-2 of Fig. l.

Fig. 3 is a section, on the line 3--3 of Fig. 1, of the device for controlling the brake shoes.

Fig. 4 is a section of said device on the line 44 of Fig. 3. 1

Fig. 5 is a section of the same device on th line 55 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is a section of an automatically adjustable stop, on the line 66 of Fig. 1.

Fig. '7 is an elevational view of a modified form of the device controlling the adjustment of the brake shoes.

Fig. 8 is a section of the same on the line 8-8 of Fig. '7.

In the construction shown in Fig. 1, the brake comprises two expanding members or shoes I and i of semi-circular shape and of T section, whichare provided with facing members 2 and may be applied against a brake drum 21. The said shoes are pivoted together at one end upon a common axle 3. The outer end of one of the brake shoes I is pivoted to an anchor 4 secured 10 to the brake disk 5, and is enabled to move transversely to said anchor. For this purpose, the brake shoe I has an aperture 6 of larger diameter than the said anchor which extends through it, and the end of said aperture is cut 15 out on the side farthest from the end of the shoe in such manner as to form a recess in which the said anchor will be situated when the shoe is in the inoperative position. The other shoe i is pivoted in like manner to an anchor 1 extending 20 through an aperture 8 in said shoe. A spring 9 is attached at its respective ends to the shoes I and l, and a spring l0 attached at one end to the brake disk 5 and at the other end to the shoe I, and said springs urge the shoes into the 25 inoperative position as shown in the figure, in which the anchors 4 and I are situated at the rear ends of the apertures 6 and 8, respectively.

The anchor 1 is secured to a shank ll which is eccentric with reference to the anchor I (Fig. 30 2); said shank H is rotatable in a bearing l2 which is riveted to the brake disk 5. A bushing I3 of graphite-covered bronze is mounted be; tween the bearing l2 and said shank, II to prevent all gripping of said shank in its bearing, and 35 thus no lubrication is required. A ratchet wheel [4 is mounted on the shank ll.

A suitable elastic device, for instance a strong spring l5, applies the ratchet wheel, by its face I4 against the bearing l2 with great pressure. a In the construction shown in Fig. 2,.said spring is contained in a socket l6 which is coaxial with the shank II and is held, at the end of 'said shank, against all lengthwise motion; said spring is in contact at one end with the outer end of .45 the hearing I! and at the other end with the inner side of the said socket It.

Said ratchet wheel is mounted between two plates I1 and IS; the plate I1 is rotatable on the shank II and the plate i8 is rotatable on the 5 bearing l2 concentrically with the shank H. Upon and between the two plates 1 1--l8 is pivotally mounted a pawl l9, whose pointed end is urged against the ratchet wheel I4 by a spring 20 (Figs. 1 and 2) said spring is mounted upon a pin 55 2| which is seemed by riveting to the plate II and extends through the plate II, also passing throughtheshoe I bymeansoiaslotuinthis latter, thus allowing a slight lateral motion of saidpinil relativelytotheshoe l. Asmall spring 23 is attached to the shoe H and to the plate H, and in the inoperative position it maintains the pin 2| against the edge e of the slot 22; said spring is as weak as possible, to prevent all movement of the shoe 5 under its action, and it has only a sufficient force to hold the pin 26 against the edge e of the slot 22.

A suitable device for the control of the shoes 9 and P is employed, which provides for the automatic taking up of the play due to the separation of the shoes, by virtue of the regulating action. As shown in Figs. 1, 3, 4 and 5, said controlling device comprises a lever secured to the end of an actuating shaft 25 extending through the brake disk 5. A spring 25 attached at one end to said disk and. at the other to the outer end of the lever 2-3 urges said lever against an adjustable eccentric stop 28 mounted on the brake disk 5. if desired, said spring may be mounted on the brake-controlling device.

An axle 2% (Fig. 3) is secured to the free end of the lever 2d, and upon said axle are rotatable two An axle 32 is riveted to said disks, and it carries a cam 33 loosely mounted thereon. A spring 36, subject to torsion, is attached at one end to the disk 3i and at the other end to the cam 38, and it urges said cam in the direction of the arrow i in such manner, that said cam will remain in contact with the shoe 6!. A ratchet wheel 35 is riveted to said cam (Figs. 3 and 5) and said wheel is in gear engagement with a portion of a ratchet wheel the direction of the teeth being such that the cam 33 can rotate only in the direction of the arrow i said wheel has two fiat parts 3? (Figs. 3 end 5) and is slidable in the disk 35 without rotation. Two small spring strips 38 are mounted between said wheel 36 and the inner end of the dish 3! (Fig. 4) and they urge the wheel 35 against the wheel A contact block 39 is loosely mounted on an axle 5i) riveted to said disks Bil and 38 and situated between them (Figs. 1 and 3) said contact block 33 is normally in contact with the end of the shoe 5 when said shoe is in the inoperative position, that is to say, when itis held against the anchor t which serves as a stop.

The brake is further provided with an automatically adjustable stop, and in the inoperative position said stop assures the centering of the shoes I and I and prevents all loose motion of the shoes in the dmction oi the arrows i and I; said stop consists of an eccentric stud M mounted on a disk 42 secured to the brake disk 5, preferably through the medium 01' an axle 83 to which the said disk :32 is keyed. The axle 33 is rotatable in the brake disk 5. A suitable elastic device, such as a strong spring M, is in contact at one end with a member 45 secured to the axle 63 and at the other end to the disk 62, and it strongly pressessaiddiskflsgainstthebrakediskfi. The stud M extends through an aperture 35 in the shoe l. The ratio between the forces of the springs IO and 64 is such that the couple of the spring II will be less than the couple due to the friction of the disk 32 upon the brake disk 5, and thus when the shoe I is brought back by the spring ll, said shoe will not move the stud M in the direction of the arrow P.

In the construction herein represented, the dimeter of the aperture it exceeds the diameter of the stud ll by a sumcient amount to practically obtain the proper play between the facing member 2 and the drum 21, which play is determined in advance.

The operation of the said brake is as follows. With the brake drum 21 rotating in the direction of the arrow 7 (Mg. 1) it a braking action is exerted upon the lever 2, this causes the rotation of said lever and hence the rotation of the d sks 3B and 3| in the direction of the arrow f; in this movement, the cam 33 bears against the shoe I. end the contact block as against the shoe i thus separatin the shoes, which now press upon the brake drum ii.

The brake drum draws forward the said shoes in the direction oi the arrow 1, and thus the pair of brake shoes will pivot upon the anchor d. The shoe i moves the pin 26 by means of the edge e of the slot 22 (Figs. 1 and 2), thus turning the plates H and it in the direction of the arrow F about the shank ii; in this movement, the pawl it! actuates the ratchet wheel it, and by rotating said wheel it displaces the anchor l by a rotation about the shank it in the direction of the arrow This displacement of the anchor l is obviously proportional to the displacement of the shoe 8, and hence to its play. When the braking action ceases, the shoe I is brought back by the springs El and i0 and it drives back the pawl is until the shoe makes contact with the anchor l, against which it now rests. As the friction couple of the ratchet wheel id upon the bearing 02 exceeds the totai couple of the springs Q and iii, the anchor i not be actuated by the brake shoe. Since wear has occurred due to braking, the anchor i is displaced, as above indicated, in the direction of the arrow f and hence the return stroke of the shoes 8 and i will be less than the forward stroke, which latter is equal to the stroke determined by the play between the facing members 2 and the drum 2?? to which is added the wear of the said facing members. In this manner the wear will always be constant. The width of the slot 22 exceeds the diameter of the pin 2 i, in order to provide for this play by delaying by a certain amount the drive of the pawl l9 by the shoe l.

Since the stop anchor l of the shoe 5 is separated from the cam 33 by reason of the wear,

the play between said cam and the shoe l increases. This play is taken up automatically by means of the aforesaid arrangement. In fact, when this play increases, due to the back motion of the anchor l occasioned by the wear of the facing members, the cam 33 which is urged by the spring 34 will turn in the direction of the arrow f until it makes contact with the shoe 9 at g, and the lever 24 comes against the stop 28, since it is drawn back by the spring 26.

When rotating in the direction of the arrow f, the cam 33 drives backby the inclined part of the teeth of the wheel 35the portion of wheel 36 which is slidable without rotation in the plate 3|, while compressing the two small springs 38. This portion of wheel 36 returns to its position when the cam 33 has turned by one tooth, thus preventing the said cam from returning to the rear or contrary to the arrow 1. It should be observed that in order that the said cam may operate, the force of compression of the two small springs must be small in comparison to the torsion couple of the spring 34.

In view of the number of variable factors which areemployeiitwillbeobservedthatitiseasy to practically obtain an adjustment having a minute accuracy, and thus a practically constant adjustment.

The adjustment of the stop 4| is automatically eifected during the braking action; In fact, when the shoe I? moves in the direction of the arrow 1 by the indirect action of the brake control, it moves the pin 4i by its face it until the facin member 2 makes contact with the drum 21. When the braking effort ceases, the spring i0 brings back the shoe 1- which returns to the rear until it meets the face i of the pin 46 which it is unable to move, since the friction couple of the disk 42 on the brake disk 5 exceeds the couple of the reaction spring in. This return stroke is proportional to the diflerence between the diameters of the aperture 46 and the'pin 4i and is thus constant.

Figs. '7 and 8 show a modified arrangement of the device for regulating the brake shoes according to the wear of the facing members, and herein the displacement of the pawl i9 which acts by means of the ratchet wheel i4 upon the eccentric axle l, is effected directly by the operating lever 24. The braking actuation of the shoes is of course accomplished by contact elements similar to the block 39 and cam 33 both mounted on lever discs similar to the lever discs 30 and iii. For this purpose, the pawl I9 is pivoted in a forked part 41 of said lever 24; a spring 48 is attached at one end to the. lever 24 and bears at its other end upon the pawl l9, thus holding the point of the pawl against the ratchet wheel 14.

When a braking effort is exerted so as to bring the shoe I against the brake drum 21, the lever 24 will turn in the direction of the arrow f thus moving the pawl l9 which rotates the ratchet wheel l4 inthe direction of the arrow 1". The anchor I thus moves at the same time in the direction of this. arrow I". When the braking effort ceases, the shoe i will return to the rear by the action of the springs 9iil (Fig. 1) until it makes contact with the anchor I which is held in place due to the friction couple of the ratchet wheel H on the bearing l2. As in the preceding case, the device is so arranged that the shoe i will move through a distance correspending to the normal play betweenthe facing members 2 and the drum 21, before the pawl i9 acts upon the ratchet wheel i4, and thus the displacement of the anchor 1 will correspond solely to the play occasioned by the wear.- This play, it will be seen, is due to the fact that upon each actuation, the pawl in rotating clockwise engages when in fully actuated position, a tooth of the ratchet. If actuation goes beyond this point, the ratchet is rotated, carrying the anchor with it. Upon brake release, and counterclockwise rotation of the pawl carrier the pawl slides freely upon the inclined surface of the adjacent tooth, and in the event the previous actuation movement was excessive, returns to a position to actuate the adjacent tooth upon subsequent brake actuation.

While there has been shown and described one embodiment of the invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited thereto. Various changes in the shapes, sizes and manner of assembling the various component parts may be resorted to without departing from the scope of the invention, as will occur to those skilled in the art. Reference will therefore be had to the appended claims for a definition of the limits of the invention.

what is claimed is:

1. A brake including a brake drum, a backing plate, a plurality of brake shoes, an eccentric pivotal connection between said shoes and said backing plate, a plurality of plates mounted on said pivot, a pin carried by said plates and extending loosely through one of said shoes, a ratchet rigid with said pivot, a pawl carried by said plates and cooperating with said ratchet, whereby brake-operating movement of said shoes will cause movement of said pawl to rotate said ratchet and pivot to effect adjustment of said shoes.

2. A brake including a brake drum, a plurality of brake shoes, a backing plate, a lever for operating said brake shoes, a pivotal connection between said shoes and said backing plate, a ratchet wheel carried by said pivot, a pawl co-operating with said ratchet wheel, a fork carried by said lever and carrying said pawl, whereby the displacement of the pawl will be proportional to the displacement of said lever. 1

3. A brake including a drum, a brake shoe, a backing plate, a cam for operating said shoes, an axle loosely carryin said cam, a controlling lever carrying said axle, an elastic device urging said cam into constantcontact with said shoe, and a pawl for preventing rotation of the cam'in the opposite direction.

4. In a brake as in claim 3, a ratchet wheel in engagement with said cam, a second ratchet wheel, an elastic device urging said ratchet wheels into facial contact, means for causing separation of said second ratchet wheel from said first ratchet wheel without rotation of said second ratchet wheel, and means restricting rotation of said first ratchet wheel to one direction only.

5. A brake comprising a drum, a plurality of shoes, controlling means for said shoes comprising a plurality of shoe engaging parts, means including an eccentric rotatable anchor for adjusting the position of the shoes with respect to the drum, and means for automatically shifting said shoe engaging parts relatively to each other to take up the play between said shoes and said controlling means occasioned by said adjustment.

6. A brake comprising a drum, a floating friction means having separable ends, anchoring means for said ends at least one of which has an automatic adjustment for wear, and spreading means having an automatic adjustment comprising separate shoe engaging parts engaging said separable ends, one of which parts is movable relatively to said spreading means to compensate for the adjustment of said anchoring means.

'7. A brake comprising a drum, a floating friction means having spreadable ends, anchoring means for said ends including mechanism to automatically increase the effective anchor width to compensate for wear and maintain uniform brake release clearance, and actuating means having shoe engaging parts for spreading said ends including an automatic adjustment to increase the distance between the points of engagement of'said'parts with said shoes to compensate for the adjustment of said anchoring means.

8. A brake comprising a drum, a floating friction means having spreadable ends, anchoring means for said ends including mechanism to automatically increase the eifective anchor width to compensate for wear and spreading means including mechanism to automatically adjust the effective width thereof in accordance with the adjustment of said anchor means without a corresponding change in position.

9. ha brake, an actuating means comprising a rotatable spreader, having two thrust parts and automatic adjustment mechanism operable relatively to shift said thrmt park. to increase the eflective width of said spreader without rotation thereof.

10. A brake comprising a drum, a brake shoe and anchor means therefor, means to automatically adjust said shoe for minimum clearance, and actuating means comprising a spreader having automatic adjustment mechanism for increasing the efiective width thereof without rotation thereof.

11. A brake comprising a brake drum, a fioating friction means therefor having spreadable adjacent ends. an anchor for each end, a cam actuator for engaging and spreading said ends, automatic adjustment means for shifting the efiective position of one of said anchors to compensate for wear of said friction means and maintain substantially uniform brake release clearance between the friction means and said drum, and an engaging means on said cam actuator for engaging the end of the friction means adjacent the adjustable anchor, and means for automati cally shifting said engaging means to compensate for increased spread between the ends of said friction means due to wear and the movement of the adjmtable anchor.

12. an automatic brake adjusting means comprising a pair of relatively movable friction members of which one is mounted to be forced into engagement with the other, actuating rams engageable with said first member, :1. stop engageehle with an element of said first member to limit the separation of the members, automatic take- .up means interposed between the first member and the actuating means, and a second automatic take-up for advancing said stop in accordance with the wear occurring between said members, one of said automatic take-up means comprising a spring actuated cam precluded from change by the first said member, except as wear takes place between said members.

ROBET CHARLES LQUIS PERRE TURGOT. 

